1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for use in sewing and creating handicraft projects, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for stiffening and shaping fabrics and other materials that lack in structure and rigidity.
2. Description of the Related Art
In various sewing and handicraft projects, it is often desirable to shape the edge of a piece of cloth or other fabric-like material into various contours. For example, it is sometimes desirable to incorporate a ruffle-like appearance to the hem of a curtain or to maintain wave-like folds in a soft textured material such as felt. Moreover, some arts and crafts projects may involve shaping a fabric or other pliable material into a specific design such as a house or teepee. Additionally, it may also be desirable to create folds or pleats in costumes and the like.
However, it is generally known that materials such as fabric, upholstery, yam, and felt tend to lack rigidity due to the inherent characteristic of the material. The lack of rigidity in these materials makes providing the material with semi-permanent shapes and contours difficult. To address this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,467 discloses a laminated, self-sticking tape comprised of a core material made of aluminum mesh and a strip of non-woven fabric material completely covering each side of the wire mesh core. The tape can be applied to a fabric and then creased to help the fabric hold the folds and other configurations. However, the core material being made of an aluminum mesh is not sufficiently strong to hold the shape of heavier materials such as tapestry. Moreover, the mesh-like material can only be adhered to fabric when the mesh is laminated with two strips of fabric. The additional strips of fabric add to the thickness of the tape and thus reduce the flexibility in manipulating the shape of the creasible core. In fact, the aluminum mesh is difficult if not impossible to directly apply to a fabric surface.
Hence, in view of the foregoing, there is a need for a shaping device for sewing and handicraft projects that can shape and contour fabrics and other pliable materials. To this end, there is a particular need for a shaping device having a rigid portion that can be directly adhered to a fabric surface and is sufficient strong to maintain contours in heavier material such as tapestry.